2021 Duel State All-Star Games 5th/6th Grade Tip Sheet pt 1
I nicknamed Aurianna Walter (Trinity Valley) “baby” at the Duel States Combine last year because she put on a show against the older players and the show wasn’t over for the talented 2029 guard at the All-Star games as she created her shot and knocked it down consistently playing up. Sidney McClendon (Weatherford) was another talented 4th grader who proved #sizedoesntmatter because she definitely left a lasting impression so this is how I’m doing it, I’m starting off with some of the guards from the 5th/6th-grade Division, I’ll have others on my BLOG as we progress and later today I’ll drop part 2 on forwards and posts right here so stay tuned
2027
Angela Pursley (Howard JC) let me open with she’s long and athletic, understands how to take defenders off the dribble, she does it with ease and attacks the rim powerfully but she also handles the ball very well at this stage and does a good job seeing the floor and making the right pass
Naomi Johnson (Paris JC) her upside is scary because she’s doing high school stuff right now and when you can create your shot under pressure and knock down the mid to long or attack, that’s huge, let me add she has a stop and pop jumper in transition. She handles the ball very well and sees the floor, let me add her “HEZ” keeps defenders guessing
Posey LaBouff (Paris JC) did a good job of scoring off the trifecta, that’s something that just popped into my head but it’s attacking the rim, hitting the midrange, and hitting the long-range yet she created each opportunity nicely and with her poise on the court, she’s going to be hard to handle
Dasiya Jones (Paris JC) certain things you can’t teach and she has quite a few, like going hard and probably was of the strongest at attacking the basket at the event and she understands how to use her athleticism on both ends. She defended well, rebounded, and showed good form on her shot, it went in too, but she’s on the right track
Nyila Skye Botello (Temple JC) this young lady left me speechless when I saw her at #Next100 and I still don’t have much to say but plenty to write. Well, I actually could say a whole lot, like on the verge of being a #D1Lock, and when I don’t have to take notes on players, it’s locked in my head. She handles the ball, as well as the pressure, makes blazing passes, and can score any way you want,”SKYE is the limit”
Serenah Coleman (Temple JC) we may have the same initials but she attacks and finishes better than me and her comprehension simply was among the best at the event. The game starts at the one, she controls the tempo and showed she could push the ball the length of the court and make passes off the dribble or keep it
Aaliyah Miller (Tyler JC) my use of acronyms makes it easy for me to grab as much as possible so “COP” definitely brought back some highlights as her change of pace was pretty impressive as it helped her to get to the rim whenever she wanted. She scored after contact, she also dropped the “FLOATA” but seeing her playing the passing lane drops her in the huge upside category
Nadia Jordan (Trinity Valley JC) the MVP of the division is a great start to where I’m going because she doesn’t crack a smile and comes right at you. You can’t teach poise, nor comprehension and what I envision is her being special because she’s athletic, sees the floor and makes the right decisions yet she can create her shot to attack or drop the mid to long-range
Lazariah Perry (Weatherford JC) the first thing I noticed was her being vocal on the court, so that that as well as her understanding how to use her athleticism to attack and see the floor made me write OMG yet it didn’t stop there because she showed the stop and pop jumper in transition as well as played the passing lane very, very well
2028
Kaleah Hines (Paris JC) when you have blazing speed, with the ball, and you’re under control and at this stage, trust me, good things are in store so watching her make acrobatic shots is not surprising since I saw her a few months ago yet she played the passing lane very well and showed she could create her outside shot
Khila Williams (Trinity Valley JC) showed an impressive floater, one of the hardest shots to master yet she’s on her way so getting to the rim and scoring was easy for her yet her defense also jumped out at me, she mans up “baseline to baseline” and she did a good job playing the passing lane which led to some baskets going the other way
Sophia Beltran (Weatherford JC) I’m ready to tag her as “clutch” because she wants the ball in pressure situations and showed she could knock down the big shots when needed and she does that by creating her shot under pressure for the mid to long range jumper but she also does a good job of attacking the basket and finishing strongly
Kyndal Kaulaity (Weatherford JC) heady guard that makes things happen and her decision-making is key at her age. She attacks the basket and can dish going full speed but she also sees the floor in transition but these things also happen because she understands how to create her shot under pressure and showed she could drop the outside shot